The Vasco Vieira de Almeida Foundation sees technology as a key vehicle for the implementation of innovative projects that promote Human Rights and an active citizenship, while also providing answers to society’s current challenges. In this context, the “App Literacia Jurídica” project, which integrates UNESCO’s Chair of Lifelong Guidance and Counseling, seeks to address these critical issues.

The project is developed by the Vasco Vieira de Almeida Foundation, in partnership with CLOO, ARCTEL and other partners, with the aim of fostering the development of technological solutions that bring the law closer to citizens and, in this way, help promote legal literacy, legal empowerment and the full exercise of citizenship.
With these goals in mind, one of the project’s activities involves the organization of the first Legal Hackathon in Portugal, an initiative consisting of a 24-hour work marathon, aiming to promote citizens' legal literacy through technology, by the development of solutions that guarantee the easy access to legal information by the common citizen, allowing an effective and full exercise of citizenship.

The participants, organized in multidisciplinary teams, are invited to develop innovative ideas that respond to the challenge "How to bring citizens closer to law through technology?", this way promoting legal literacy and legal empowerment and following the strong international trend in adoption and integration of new technologies in the way of working and adaptation of processes of different legal actors.

Throughout the activity, teams will be accompanied by mentors who are specialized in technology, law and management, and will have to develop innovative ideas that respond to the problems proposed, presenting a pitch of their proposals to the jury who will, after, deliberate the winning teams and award prizes in the total amount of 10 thousand euros.